Platform For International Collaboration Research Articles

The I-CAH Registry: A platform for international collaboration for improving knowledge and clinical care in congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

To provide an overview of the I-CAH Registry. Following the successful roll-out of the I-DSD Registry in the 2000s, it was felt that there was a need for a registry for congenital adrenal hyperplasia(CAH) and this was launched in 2014 as a dedicated module within the original registry. In addition to supporting and promoting research, the I-CAH Registry acts as an international tool for benchmarking of clinical care and it does this through the collection of standardised data for specific projects. Surveillance of novel therapies in the field of CAH can also be achieved via global collaborations. Its robust governance ensures adherence to the international standards for rare disease registries.Rare disease registries such as the I-CAH Registry are important tools for all stakeholders involved in the care of people with CAH.

Global research priorities related to the World Health Organization Labour Care Guide: results of a global consultation

BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) published the WHO Labour Care Guide (LCG) in 2020 to support the implementation of its 2018 recommendations on intrapartum care. The WHO LCG promotes evidence-based labour monitoring and stimulates shared decision-making between maternity care providers and labouring women. There is a need to identify critical questions that will contribute to defining the research agenda relating to implementation of the WHO LCG.MethodsThis mixed-methods prioritization exercise, adapted from the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) and James Lind Alliance (JLA) methods, combined a metrics-based design with a qualitative, consensus-building consultation in three phases. The exercise followed the reporting guideline for priority setting of health research (REPRISE). First, 30 stakeholders were invited to submit online ideas or questions (generation of research ideas). Then, 220 stakeholders were invited to score "research avenues" (i.e., broad research ideas that could be answered through a set of research questions) against six independent and equally weighted criteria (scoring of research avenues). Finally, a technical working group (TWG) of 20 purposively selected stakeholders reviewed the scoring, and refined and ranked the research avenues (consensus-building meeting).ResultsInitially, 24 stakeholders submitted 89 research ideas or questions. A list of 10 consolidated research avenues was scored by 75/220 stakeholders. During the virtual consensus-building meeting, research avenues were refined, and the top three priorities agreed upon were: (1) optimize implementation strategies of WHO LCG, (2) improve understanding of the effect of WHO LCG on maternal and perinatal outcomes, and the process and experience of labour and childbirth care, and (3) assess the effect of the WHO LCG in special situations or settings. Research avenues related to the organization of care and resource utilization ranked lowest during both the scoring and consensus-building process.ConclusionThis systematic and transparent process should encourage researchers, program implementers, and funders to support research aligned with the identified priorities related to WHO LCG. An international collaborative platform is recommended to implement prioritized research by using harmonized research tools, establishing a repository of research priorities studies, and scaling-up successful research results.

The GROWTH Marshal: A Dynamic Science Portal for Time-domain Astronomy

We describe a dynamic science portal called the GROWTH Marshal that allows time-domain astronomers to define science programs; program filters to save sources from different discovery streams; coordinate follow-up with various robotic or classical telescopes; analyze the panchromatic follow-up data; and generate summary tables for publication. The GROWTH marshal currently serves 137 scientists, 38 science programs, and 67 telescopes. Every night, in real time, several science programs apply various customized filters to the 105 nightly alerts from the Zwicky Transient Facility. Here, we describe the schematic and explain the functionality of the various components of this international collaborative platform.

Challenges to and opportunities for establishing a qualitative approach to Built Environment research in higher education institutions

PurposeThere are serious implications for adopting inappropriate research strategies and methods, and this is evident in the Built Environment (BE) given the under adoption of qualitative strategies in some countries. Therefore, based on empirical evidence from Nigeria, the purpose of this study is to examine the challenges to and opportunities for establishing Qualitative Approach (QA) to BE research in higher education institutions (HEIs) and to develop an improvement framework for QA.Design/methodology/approachAcademics and research students in the BE research of Nigerian HEIs were interviewed and the data analysed thematically. Based on the findings, including recommendations from the respondents, a framework for improving the use of QA in BE research was developed and academics evaluated it for workability.FindingsThis study reveals that the challenges to QA in BE research include information constraints, socio-cultural issues and the negative attitudes of senior academics to QA. The opportunities include the realisation for a paradigm shift, the characteristics of the socio-cultural context and features of BE and the general potentials of QA. The proposed framework encompasses encouraging and providing a platform for international collaboration between academics in developing and developed countries, and preferential treatment for QA. It also enables regulatory and incentive mechanisms, which will act as drivers.Practical implicationsThis study provides stakeholders in academia with knowledge and a detailed guideline for establishing QA to research in the BE.Originality/valueThis study provides a country context-based detailed guide for establishing QA in HEIs BE research towards ensuring that research strategies adopted in BE research are fit for purpose, in turn are aligned to addressing problems in the society. There is little or no study of this nature in BE.

A new platform for international collaboration on pharmacology and drug development: 2017 China-Canada-USA Pharmacology/Physiology Conference

This Special Issue attributes to the 2017 China-Canada-USA Pharmacology/Physiology Conference (CCUPPC), one of the initiatives of promoting scientific exchanges and research collaborations in the field of pharmacology, physiology and drug development. The conference brought scientists from China, Canada, and USA together, and created a new platform for international collaboration.

Beyond Brexit: Cross-border collaborations in pre-registration midwifery education

In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU), which will have wide ranging social, legal and constitutional implications. Although the International Confederation of Midwives has established international standards for midwifery education, education and practice are regulated through an EU directive that includes the recognition of professional qualifications that is necessary for midwives to practise anywhere within the EU. While there is uncertainty around the future political landscape post-Brexit, it is important that pre-existing professional links are protected and strengthened, providing a platform for international collaboration for professional discourse, dissemination of research findings and sharing of best practice. At the University of Northampton, this is happening through partnership with The Florence Network, which connects nurses and midwives.

Commentary: Frailty and cancer.

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International network of twin registries (INTR): building a platform for international collaboration.

The International Network of Twin Registries (INTR) aims to foster scientific collaboration and promote twin research on a global scale by working to expand the resources of twin registries around the world and make them available to researchers who adhere to established guidelines for international collaboration. Our vision is to create an unprecedented scientific network of twin registries that will advance knowledge in ways that are impossible for individual registries, and includes the harmonization of data. INTR will also promote a broad range of activities, including the development of a website, formulation of data harmonization protocols, creation of a library of software tools for twin studies, design of a search engine to identify research partners, establishment of searchable inventories of data and biospecimens, development of templates for informed consent and data sharing, organization of symposia at International Society of Twin Studies conferences, support for scholar exchanges, and writing grant proposals.

The Global Cancer Genomics Consortium: Interfacing Genomics and Cancer Medicine

The Global Cancer Genomics Consortium (GCGC) is an international collaborative platform that amalgamates cancer biologists, cutting-edge genomics, and high-throughput expertise with medical oncologists and surgical oncologists; they address the most important translational questions that are central to cancer research and treatment. The annual GCGC symposium was held at the Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer, Mumbai, India, from November 9 to 11, 2011. The symposium showcased international next-generation sequencing efforts that explore cancer-specific transcriptomic changes, single-nucleotide polymorphism, and copy number variations in various types of cancers, as well as the structural genomics approach to develop new therapeutic targets and chemical probes. From the spectrum of studies presented at the symposium, it is evident that the translation of emerging cancer genomics knowledge into clinical applications can only be achieved through the integration of multidisciplinary expertise. In summary, the GCGC symposium provided practical knowledge on structural and cancer genomics approaches, as well as an exclusive platform for focused cancer genomics endeavors.

The harmonization of the regulation of blood products: a European perspective

The development of blood products as medicines initially took place on the national level in various countries, which resulted in considerable diversity of mechanisms and stringency of regulatory oversight. The scenario changed dramatically with the catastrophic experience that severe virus infections had been transmitted by blood products world-wide. Blood products, which had been regulated differently in the member states, became subject to the European pharmaceutical legislation in 1989. A specialized directive regulating the blood transfusion sector and the collection of plasma for fractionation was enacted in 2002. The European Community, particularly the Commission and the European Medicines Agency, is continuously refining the requirements, providing detailed technical and scientific guidance. In addition, institutions of the Council of Europe play an important role in the transfusion sector, the elaboration of the European Pharmacopoeia prescriptions, and the co-ordination of Official Medicines Control Laboratory or Laboratories batch release. However, further and sustained efforts towards international harmonization are needed. There are already important mechanisms in place, such as the International Conference on Harmonization initiative, which is producing internationally recognized guidelines on central issues. Another important achievement is the common technical document format, which enables the use of uniform applications for marketing authorization. However, there is still room for progress, for example, questions regarding regulatory requirements for licensing of in vitro diagnostic devices, or mutual recognition of inspections. The World Health Organization continues to play an important role in harmonization, both substantially by the production of high-level guidance documents or the establishment of physical international standard preparations, and in a more general sense by providing a platform for international collaboration. A very important aspect is the transparency of the creation and refinement of regulatory requirements. It is currently the rule that draft legal texts, monographs and guidelines are published for a consultation period before adoption. Effort and attention are required to keep track of the developments. However, in the era of modern electronic communication tools, the necessary information can be found on websites and comments can easily be submitted. Networking and exchange of information will continue to be crucial for development and maintenance of sound and balanced regulatory requirements.

Applying innovations and new technologies for international collaborative wheat improvement

Despite the successes of the Green Revolution, about a billion people are still undernourished and food security in the developing world faces new challenges in terms of population growth, reduced water resources, climate change and decreased public sector investment. It is also becoming widely recognized that poverty is a cause of environmental degradation, conflict and civil unrest. Internationally coordinated agricultural research can play a significant role in improving food security by deploying promising new technologies as well as adapting those with well-established impact.In addition to the genetic challenges of crop improvement, agriculturalists must also embrace the problems associated with a highly heterogeneous and unpredictable environment. Not only are new genetic tools becoming more accessible, but a new generation of quantitative tools are available to enable better definition of agro-ecosystems, of cultivar by environment interactions, and of socio-economic issues, while satellite imagery can help predict crop yields on large scales. Identifying areas of low genetic diversity – for example as found in large tracts of South Asia – is an important aspect of reducing vulnerability to disease epidemics. Global strategies for incorporating durable disease resistance genes into a wider genetic background, as well as participatory approaches that deliver a fuller range of options to farmers, are being implemented to increase cultivar diversity.The unpredictable effects of environment on productivity can be buffered somewhat by crop management practices that maintain healthy soils, while reversing the consequences of rapid agricultural intensification on soil degradation. Conservation agriculture is an alternative strategy that is especially pertinent for resource-poor farmers.The potential synergy between genetic improvement and innovative crop management practices has been referred to as the Doubly Green Revolution. The unique benefits and efficiency of the international collaborative platform are indisputable when considering the duplications that otherwise would have been required to achieve the same impacts through unilateral or even bilateral programmes. Furthermore, while the West takes for granted public support for crucial economic and social issues, this is not the case in a number of less-developed countries where the activities of International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs) and other development assistance organizations can provide continuity in agricultural research and infrastructure.